Score a site at a ‘full’ campground

But after a year of visiting America’s national parks, I’ve learned to not give up hope.

As the early-morning sun illuminated Arches’ dramatic rock features, I walked through the Devil’s Garden Campground. After tracking down the campground host, I smiled and asked as nicely as I could, “Any cancellations for tonight?”

“You’re in luck,” he responded, and 30 minutes later I was parked in one of best campsites in one of America’s most beautiful national parks at one of its busiest times.

If you find yourself shut out at a popular national park campground, try this:

– Arrive early: Check in with the host by 9 a.m. They typically make their morning rounds between 8 and 9 a.m. to see who’s leaving.

– Be polite: Camp hosts deal with unruly people all day long. Give them a reason to help you out.

– Be patient: Hang out as unobtrusively as you can as the hosts do their jobs. It just might help you score that final site.

I’ve seen grizzly bears in Denali National Park and foxes in Death Valley.

And I’ve witnessed sunsets – dozens of them – from the glorious Washington coast to the dramatic South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Yes, you could say I’m lucky. And so are you: All of these experiences are available to anyone, thanks to America’s amazing national park system.

Over the last year, my wife Leslie Kelly and I have made it a priority to visit as many national parks as possible during an extended RV road trip around the United States. You may have read about us in our Spokesman-Review Auto Connection column, Going Mobile.

Throughout our travels, we’ve stayed in some fantastic campgrounds, perfect for exploring some of the best national parks and monuments in the West. The following campgrounds are some of our favorites. We hope you’ll check them out and start planning your own road trip.

Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Washington:Kalaloch in Olympic National Park is the best campground along the Evergreen State’s coastline. Try to get a site on the bluff overlooking the ocean. In North Cascades National Park, Newhalem Campground sits in an old-growth forest along the Skagit River and is far nicer than noisy, overcrowded Colonial Creek up the road. On the east side of the Cascades, Klipchuck is a lovely national forest campground just outside park, and it’s only 12 miles from the funky Methow Valley town of Mazama. At Mount Rainier National Park, the campgrounds are notoriously crowded. Ohanapecosh is the best of the bunch.

Oregon:Crater Lake National Park has the massive Mazama Campground, which takes reservations, and the Lost Creek Campground, which doesn’t. Of the two, remote Lost Creek is the best choice if you’re willing to take a shot at getting a first-come site.

Alaska: We explored Denali National Park from Riley Creek campground just inside the park entrance. It works well and is easy walking distance to the Visitor Center. Even better, though, is the exclusive Teklanika River campground, 29 miles inside the park. Visitors to Tek, as it’s known, are allowed to drive into the tour bus-only park, a huge bonus.

Intermountain West

Idaho: The Gem State has no national parks, but it does have a fantastic national monument. Craters of the Moon is mind-blowing, a volcanic hot spot that offers wonderful hiking and array of lava tubes to explore. The beautiful Lava Flow Campground puts you right in the middle of the volcanic action.

Utah: One of our favorite spots on this journey has been Green River Campground in Dinosaur National Monument in Northeast Utah. (The monument also extends into northwest Colorado.) The nearby Quarry Exhibit hall is amazing, a place where you can see more than 1,500 dinosaur fossils displayed on massive rock wall. Devil’s Garden Campground in Arches National Park is one of the most stunning places to camp in any national park; as such, it fills up with reservations early (see sidebar). Zion National Park offers two busy campgrounds, South and Watchman near the Springdale, Utah, entrance, both user-friendly places to stay. This is a great park for a bike – riding among the sandstone cliffs is spectacular, especially because cars aren’t allowed in picturesque Zion Canyon.

Colorado:Rocky Mountain National Park is amazing, but its frontcountry campgrounds are horribly overcrowded. Far better camping is available at Colorado’s other parks. Mesa Verde National Park has the Morefield Campground, with excellent sites that puts you in prime position to explore the dramatic Pueblo cliff dwellings. Black Canyon of the Gunnison offers East Portal Campground, a wonderful place to spend the night at the top of a 3,280-foot-deep chasm. And one of the most bizarre and rewarding places we have stayed in our travels is at Piñon Flats Campground in Great Sand Dunes National Park, where you’ll find North America’s largest sand dunes – some more than 1,000 feet tall. Hike to the top and then run – or slide – down.

Southwest

California: Camping in America’s hottest national park is a challenge, but if you can time it right, it’s unforgettable. Death Valley National Park’s Furnace Creek is massive and crowded, so we opted to stay at Stovepipe Wells, on the edge of the park’s Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. It allowed us to hike amid the dunes as desert foxes scampered alongside us. Another desert gem is Joshua Tree National Park, where the camping is phenomenal throughout. We stayed at Jumbo Rocks Campground in one of dozens of sites set amid the dramatic features.

Arizona:Grand Canyon National Park is one of America’s busiest tourist destinations. It could feel overrun, but Mather Campground on the South Rim is surprisingly good, with beautiful sites in a great location. Besides offering great hiking, Grand Canyon is another fantastic park to explore on bike: A dedicated paved trail snakes through much of Grand Canyon Village, and the road to Hermit’s Rest is off-limits to cars, making it perfect for a ride. The less-traveled North Rim has its own excellent campground and nearby Kaibab National Forest offers free dispersed camping.